(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a zero-reset type counter provided with digit wheels, an order shift mechanism and a zero reset mechanism.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Recently, the counters of this sort are extensively used as a portable adder or as a tripmeter in a tape recorder, automobile and the like. However, the most of them, as their respective digit wheels are so arranged as to have a certain intervals due to their mechanical structure, have such a defect that their lateral width is large for their number of figures and have an external appearance not so preferable. Further, in the counters of this sort, the zero reset is generally effected by pressing down an eccentric cam formed integrally with a digit wheel with a swingable lever. However, in this type of mechanism wherein the above mentioned lever and the order shift pinion group are formed as one assembly and this assembly is disposed parallely on the outer portion of the digit wheel group, the size of the whole counter device becomes so large as not to be apt to manufacture a miniature counter of this sort.
Conventionally, in order to delete these defects, a counter of such a type wherein, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 42912/1976, zero reset plates movable to the vertical direction are interposed between respective digit wheels and the order shift pinion group is entirely housed inside the digit wheels by making these zero reset plates pivot the order shift pinions has been proposed. However, this type of counter has a problem in the mass production due to the difficulty in assemblage.